Montana State opened its fall camp on Sunday afternoon almost entirely healthy and with sky-high aspirations. But the Bobcats are trying to focus on realizing December, the postseason and a potential for a Big Sky banner are in the distant future.
“Our slogan for the year is W.I.N. which stands for ‘what’s important now’,” Montana State head coach Rob Ash said following Sunday’s two-hour, 47-minute practice.
“We obviously want to win but to win, we have to take care of what’s important right now. When we are having a meeting, that meeting is the most important thing there is. When we are having a meal, then that’s the most important thing, to eat right. Whatever you’re doing, that’s going to be the focus to stay in the moment, stay in the day and focus on what’s important now.”
Here’s a report from the first day of what will be a two-week fall camp as MSU prepares to open the 2015 season on the night of Thursday, September 3 in Bozeman.
INJURIES AND ELIGILITY
- Redshirt freshman cornerback Braelen Evans and junior defensive end Robert Wilcox will not participate in fall camp as they recover from off-season knee surgeries. Wilcox, who took last semester off after the sudden death of his father, is up over 275 pounds despite having his second knee surgery since transferring to MSU. Evans tore his knee during the off-season, the second time he’s sustained such an injury.
- Senior offensive guard Kyle Godecke and senior offensive tackle Alex Eekhoff participated for about 30 minutes before calling it a day on Sunday. Godecke will participate for about 10 or 15 minutes longer each day as camp progresses as the 6-foot-6, 325-pounder tries to return from foot surgery. Eekhoff will get similar treatment as the 6-foot-7, 280-pounder returns from shoulder surgery. Godecke has started 22 games in his career but missed most of last season with a similar injury. Eekhoff has started 17 games, including all 13 games last season at right tackle.
- Junior running back Gunnar Brekke left practice 30 minutes in with what Ash said was “leg tightness” stemming from the vigorous conditioning he put in during the off-season. Last fall, Brekke totaled 691 yards from scrimmage and scored six total touchdowns last season. The 2012 Montana Gatorade Player of the Year also led the league in kick return yards.
- Junior linebacker Wyatt Christensen participated in all drills on Sunday but did not get any time with the first two teams. Christiansen tore ligaments in his knee each of his first two seasons and sat out all of last year.
- Montana State signed eight transfers in February, including five junior college players and three former FBS players. Sophomore safety Bryson McCabe (Iowa Western) joined the team in January as did former UAB senior safety Desman Carter and former Baylor junior wide receiver Brandon Brown. On Sunday, Carter and Brown got first-team repetitions while Cincinnati transfer Marcus Tappan, who arrived in June, took reps with the second team. McCabe is trying to secure the spot as Carter’s backup at strong safety. Defensive end Shiloh LaBoy (College of the Redwoods) and defensive tackle Joe Naotala (Palomar) rotated in with the second-team defensive line. Defensive end Jessie Clark (Los Angeles Harbor JC) will get his final grades on Tuesday, then will find out his eligibility fate. Linebacker Zach Stern is in Bozeman but has not been cleared to join the team yet.
- Chris Harris, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound freshman cornerback out of Lake Elsinore, California, was a potential grayshirt candidate after having his senior high school season cut short with a torn ACL. A grayshirt means a player does not join the team until the second semester but does attend classes. If he graduates in four years, he can get his fifth season of eligibility back. But grayshirting also voids the National Letter of Intent signed in February, meaning the player can transfer to another program. Because Harris is medically cleared, Ash said he will compete for time at cornerback and could even play his way out of redshirting.
- Freshman defensive end Chris Robinson was touch and go until last week in terms of eligibility. The 6-foot-3, 252-pounder qualified and was at practice on Sunday.
OBSERVATIONS
- The Sunday 2-deep depth chart
OFFENSE
LT: John Weidenaar, senior; Dylan Mahoney, sophomore
LG: J.P. Flynn, junior; Caleb Gillis, sophomore
C: Joel Horn, senior; Doug Hanson, junior
RG: Kyle Godecke, senior; Dylan Mahoney, sophomore/Monte Folsom, sophomore
RT: Alex Eekhoff, senior; Wade Webster, redshirt freshman
QB: Dakota Prukop, junior; Jake Bleskin, senior
RB: Chad Newell, junior; Gunnar Brekke, junior; Tavon Dodd, redshirt freshman
TE: Beau Sandland, senior; Austin Barth, junior
X WR: Mitch Herbert, sophomore; Manny Kalfell, senior; Conner Sulivan, redshirt freshman
F/Y WR: Mitch Greibel, senior; Jayshawn Gates, sophomore/Johnny D’Agostino, redshirt freshman
Z WR: Justin Paige, sophomore; Brandon Brown, junior
DEFENSE
DE: Tyrone Fa’anono, sophomore; Zach Wright, redshirt freshman/Shiloh LaBoy, junior
DT: Taylor Sheridan, senior; Nate Bignell, senior
DT: Conner Thomas, senior; Tucker Yates, redshirt freshman/Joe Naotala, junior
DE: Zach Hutchins, junior; Devin Jeffries, sophomore
WLB: Blake Braun, sophomore; Marcus Tappan, sophomore
MLB: Grant Collins, redshirt freshman; Fletcher Collins, junior
SLB: Mac Bignell, sophomore; Toti Moeakiola, redshirt freshman
CB: Trace Timmer, senior; Bryce Alley, sophomore
SS: Desman Carter, senior; Bryson McCabe, sophomore
FS: DeMonte King, redshirt freshman; Khari Garcia, sophomore
CB: Bryson Keeton, senior; Tre’Von Strong, freshman
- LaBoy and Naotala bring real size to Montana State’s defensive line. Naotala in particular looks like a grown man and he practiced with intensity and great explosion on his first day as a Bobcat.
- Freshman quarterback Jordan Hoy isn’t as tall as his listed height of 6-foot-1 and is smaller than expected. But he throws a good ball, has a strong arm, appears to have good mobility in the pocket and showed little fear on Sunday. Hoy connected with 6-foot-6 true freshman Cam Sutton (who’s ever bit as big as his listed size) on no less than four occasions on Sunday with the No. 3 offense.
- Brown practices hard and with a purpose. His fundamentals are on par with Griebel’s as among the best in the MSU receiver group.
- Dodd had a couple of head-shaking cuts that left second-team defenders in the dust. He continues to look like he can replace Shawn Johnson as MSU’s big-play threat out of the backfield.
- Tappan showed great explosion and focus in his first day in blue and gold. His eyes get about as wide as any player I’ve ever seen when he’s engaged in the action. He took second-team reps during team but he got some first-team reps during 7-on-7.
- All three freshman corners — Harris, Tre’von Strong and Sidney Holmes — will challenge for playing time. Harris had a few nice jams of receivers off the line of scrimmage. Strong had an interception of Jake Bleskin during a 7-on-7.
- Grant Collins gets bigger seemingly every time you go a few months without seeing him. The freshman from Bozeman is surely heavier than his listed weight of 215 pounds on his 6-foot-4 frame.
- Redshirt freshman Koni Dole got some reps with the second-team defense at Mike linebacker. The Huntley Project product has attained fame for his pursuit of playing college football on a cheetah blade prosthetic leg first made famous by Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorious.
- Freshman tight end Woody Brandom will take awhile to the college game but he showed great attention to detail when going through his drills at a significantly slow pace in order to get his footwork and fundamentals corrected by tight ends coach Daniel DaPrato.
- Sophomore Monte Folsom has changed positions again. The 2011 Class A Defensive MVP at Dillon played middle linebacker in high school. He came back from a two-year LDS mission weighing more than 285 pounds, so he switched to defensive tackle, a position he played well in the spring. Now he’s playing right guard. .
Sophomore defensive end Tyrone Fa’anono has had a standout 2015 already, grasping Kane Ioane’s new defense as well as any Bobcat. On Sunday, he had one play that showed his aggression and speed. Although it resulted in a scolding for taking Mitch Griebel to the ground, the 6-foot-2, 250-pounder chased down Montana State’s senior speedy slot receiver from behind and pulled him to the ground accidentally because of his explosive, sprawling dive.
- Dylan Mahoney is the second-team left tackle when the offensive linemen stand in units. But when Godecke and Eekhoff took to the sidelines, Mahoney shifted to right guard and Caleb Gillis played right tackle.
- Freshman offensive lineman Kash Perry, a Utica native that starred at Class C six-man Denton-Geyser-Stanford, is huge. I somewhat expected him to be underdeveloped in terms of muscle and coordination. While he does have slow feet — 5-foot-9, 305-pound nose tackle Matt Brownlow put Perry on his face with a spin move during individuals — he’s much more fortified and chiseled than I expected. He’s listed at 6-foot-6, 310 pounds and he has real deal size. He’s already 20 pounds heavier than honors candidate senior left tackle John Weidenaar.
- Freshman defensive end Chris Robinson was having a hard time with his conditioning during his first college practice.
- Redshirt freshman tight end Curtis Amos looks back to full health. He missed all last fall and spring with a knee injury. The 6-foot, 220-pounder was ranked as one of the top 10 tight ends in Texas as a high school senior. He’s an explosive athlete with good hands.
- Sophomore Mitchell Herbert had the play of the day when he made a diving catch near the end of practice. During team, Dakota Prukop looked for Herbert over the top as Herbert found himself with single coverage from senior Trace Timmer. Herbert got his right hand on the ball with Timmer’s head and body in between Herbert’s arms and hands. Herbert tipped the ball over Timmer and into his left hand, then secured the ball as he fell to the turf.
- Cam Sutton is among the tallest Bobcats. The only players definitively taller than Sutton are senior left tackle John Weidenaar (6-foot-8 ½) and senior right tackle Alex Eekhoff (6-foot-7).
Freshman Keon Stephens was the target of as many throws as any receiver on Sunday. He had multiple drops but also a handful of catches. He’s a very smooth athlete who’s decently polished already for a freshman.
- Connor Sullivan looks like he’s lost some weight. He looks ripped. He was 237 in the spring. He’s listed at 230 now.
- Wilcox looks to be in prime physical condition despite his knee injury. He is listed at 260 pounds but I best he’s closer to 275.
- Devin Jeffries and Zach Wright both look bigger. Wright is listed at 250 and Jeffries is listed at the same.
Photo by Brooks Nuanez.
